my stay in malaysia was short but sweet. i crossed over from thailand, through a very non-eventful border crossing. i don't even think i saw a gun. how disapointing!
penang is an island off the north-west coast of malyasia in the malacca straights. the main city is called georgetown. many colonial powers have, at times, occupied the island, which has resulted in a very cool mix of architecture. the streets in the old part of town are made of tightely packed buildings with various colonial styles facades.
the island's poplualtion is overwhelmingly chinese. i stayed in china town and was blown away at how much it was like being in china. the store fronts, restaurants, outside food stalls, family gatherings, chines signs, etc, were spot on chinese. i arrived a couple of days before the chines new year and looked forward to some big celebrations. no such luck. although there was some action at the temples and clan houses, and most houses had little alters and incense (some gigantic) burning outside their homes, the majority of the businesses shut down and things were likely more mellow than on a regular business day.
so..........i went to the beach. it was a stark contrast from thailand. the beaches weren't as nice and the water not nearly as clear. but the most striking differnce were the people. the majority of malays are muslims. they dress very modestly and this extends to the beach. small children wore bathing suits, but the adults, if they ventured in the water, were fully clothed.........and it was hot! i got to give the dedication thing to them. anyway, i manged to find some out of the way beaches occupied mostly by monkeys and lizards. pretty nice.
another major monrity group in the city is indian. there is a street that seperates china town from the indian part of town. it was amazing to cross the road, literally into another world. the music, people, food, dress......everything.......was indian.
all this mix of cultures, although intersting to the eyes and ears, was most profoundly experienced in the mouth! the food there was incredible. there was such a variety of little outside food stalls, hawkers and restuarants that it was tempting do just go from one food establishment to the next. my favorite was definelty the indian food. chicken masala and some gharlic nann to slop up the sauce was an out of this world experience. i didn't have indian for breakfast...........any time after, and up until, then was fair game.
my excitement in getting to indonesia and really immersing myself in the language, culture and customes of this huge country, meant that my time in malyasia was short . none-the-less, it was an enjoyable time, and i look forward to seeing more of malaysia in the future.
